Best tire pressure for smooth ride and towing?

I have a (new to me) 2000 Explorer XLS (6 cyl. SOHC). I will be using it for in town commuting and pulling a 2500 lb. enclosed trailer on weekends. I've seen the recommendations for running tire pressure 30 front / 35 rear as a general guideline.

What I am interested in is your experiences with the optimum pressures to get a smoother ride with no trailer vs. the best for trailer towing. I'm sure these will be different. My tires are Goodyear Wrangler RT/S.

Thanks,

Will

Reply to
BOTMLINE 2
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Will - I have a 2000 Sport with the same Wrangler's (replacements for the Firestone issue) and I run 32 all around without any problem. I am coming into the conclusion that it needs shocks although. I think these Wranglers are a smoother ride than the Firestones which translates into a stiffer sidewall/tread pattern and has put more work on the shocks. We have 63k miles so it is probably time. This is with no trailer towing whatsoever. It is the wifes vehicle.

And since you've reminded me, it time to bring the air pressure back up since it is colder outside.

Reply to
Scott Van Nest

Your absolute best bet is to bite the bullet and adjust the tire pressures according to the current load conditions. A lot depends on the tongue load of the trailer.

At any rate, the wrong tire pressure will result in either the early demise of the tire of a dangerous tire..... too much air and we see centre tread wear, too little pressure and we can not only have premature wear, but we can overheat the tire due to sidewall flexing. The tire sidewall bears a notation something like "maximim load XXXX lbs at XX psi inflation pressure". You can use this as a guideline....

Unfortunately, there is no "magic bullet" tire pressure and, in all too many cases, tires can be one of the most overlooked safety items on our cars.....

Safe motoring.

Jim Warman snipped-for-privacy@telusplanet.net

Reply to
Jim Warman

I try to keep my tire pressure at 32 psi year round and I don't worry about adjusting pressure when pulling my trailer although it is never loaded with more that 1,000 lbs of cargo, etc.

Reply to
bronzey

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